As is known in the art, the level of fault-tolerance and fault-recovery in a communications network depends upon the network topology and transmission format. Conventional optical networks, i.e., networks that use optical fiber as the transmission medium, can be configured using a variety of known topologies, each of which provides varying levels of fault-protection. For example, a network organized in a star topology offers little or no protection against a cut in the fiber from a node to the central unit (often referred to as a “hub”), because a cut totally isolates a node from the rest of the star. So-called ring topologies are popular because all nodes remain connected to each other in the event of a cut in one of the fibers. However, in these designs optical signals need to be received, processed and sometimes modified, and retransmitted at every node in order to detect a fiber cut and wrap traffic around the cut. In the event of a fiber cut, the affected nodes must detect, locate, and recover from the failure, and the other nodes need to participate in the recovery process.